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One question I have regarding spending the first 2 years in a CC is how does this impact your ability to get admitted to a 4-year school later on, particularly

One question I have regarding spending the first 2 years in a CC is how does this impact your ability to get admitted to a 4-year school later on, particularly a top-tier (say top 50) university? Are these schools less likely to admit students who will only spend a couple of years there vs students entering straight out of high school, all other things being equal? I don't know the answer, but given my son is on a track to gain admission to a top university, I would hate to give advice that could hurt him in the long run.

tssva 9y ago
My state has multiple public universities which regularly appear on top 50 lists and for many in demand fields in the top 5 or 10. The CC systems have agreements with the state public universities guaranteeing admission after 2 years attending CC. There are of course requirements that must be met during the 2 years. They vary from school to school, so you do need to target a specific school while attending CC. These requirements generally involve minimum GPA, credit hours earned and required courses. Since the requirements can vary so greatly between schools many of the CCs have counselors dedicated to working with students to make sure they meet the requirements of the specific 4 year school they would like to attend. The universities were required to enter these agreements by state law. In an attempt to bring in more out of state tuition dollars some have started to voluntarily enter similar agreements with CC systems in other states. Do some research and see if there are similar arrangements between CCs and public universities in your state or with out of state universities.
alistairSH 9y ago
tssva is correct, most states have matriculation agreements between the CC system and state college system. So, at worst, you finish your degree at your home states flagship state university (obviously, those vary, but generally, each state has at least one well respected institution). If you're in VA, you "hit the jackpot" and have many choices (UVA, W&M, VT, plus a half-dozen other solid choices). Locally (VA), students are guaranteed admission to the state university system if they meet a published GPA threshold. That threshold varies by school. The one big caveat - students are not guaranteed placement within specific programs. So, at GMU, an overall GPA of 2.85 is required to transfer, however that is might not be high enough to guarantee placement in their Computer Science program (which is highly competitive and close to fully enrolled). I don't know how this applies to transferring to an Ivy (or other top-tier private). For the Ivies, I assume the caliber of student who can gain admission is going to figure out the finances (for better or worse). I also assume (big assumption here) that even a "useless" liberal arts degree from Harvard makes one employable at a reasonable salary (vs the same degree from a 2-tier school). Edit - one "local" private school (Shepherd U, WV) also has a guaranteed transfer program from the local (Northern VA) CC system. They offer a tuition discount to those transfers. http://www.shepherd.edu/nova-transfer-admissions/ http://www.shepherd.edu/nova-transfer-admissions/
- brewdad 9y ago
  Unfortunately, my state's universities are decidedly mediocre. Both flagships sit outside the top 100 nationally. Bordering states do have strong public universities, so I will have to see if there is any reciprocity. Otherwise, it looks like we'll have to do a lot of close examination of the total financial packages being offered when the time comes. I graduated in the mid-90s with $20k in debt. That wasn't fun but it was manageable. I can't imagine graduating with a mortgage's worth of debt.
  - alistairSH 9y ago
    VA also has a private college subsidy (effectively brings most private college tuition down near state-tuition rates). Maybe your state offers something similar? And, check other in-state privates, maybe they offer something like Shepherd U.

tssva 9y ago

My state has multiple public universities which regularly appear on top 50 lists and for many in demand fields in the top 5 or 10. The CC systems have agreements with the state public universities guaranteeing admission after 2 years attending CC. There are of course requirements that must be met during the 2 years. They vary from school to school, so you do need to target a specific school while attending CC. These requirements generally involve minimum GPA, credit hours earned and required courses. Since the requirements can vary so greatly between schools many of the CCs have counselors dedicated to working with students to make sure they meet the requirements of the specific 4 year school they would like to attend. The universities were required to enter these agreements by state law. In an attempt to bring in more out of state tuition dollars some have started to voluntarily enter similar agreements with CC systems in other states. Do some research and see if there are similar arrangements between CCs and public universities in your state or with out of state universities.

alistairSH 9y ago

tssva is correct, most states have matriculation agreements between the CC system and state college system. So, at worst, you finish your degree at your home states flagship state university (obviously, those vary, but generally, each state has at least one well respected institution). If you're in VA, you "hit the jackpot" and have many choices (UVA, W&M, VT, plus a half-dozen other solid choices). Locally (VA), students are guaranteed admission to the state university system if they meet a published GPA threshold. That threshold varies by school. The one big caveat - students are not guaranteed placement within specific programs. So, at GMU, an overall GPA of 2.85 is required to transfer, however that is might not be high enough to guarantee placement in their Computer Science program (which is highly competitive and close to fully enrolled). I don't know how this applies to transferring to an Ivy (or other top-tier private). For the Ivies, I assume the caliber of student who can gain admission is going to figure out the finances (for better or worse). I also assume (big assumption here) that even a "useless" liberal arts degree from Harvard makes one employable at a reasonable salary (vs the same degree from a 2-tier school). Edit - one "local" private school (Shepherd U, WV) also has a guaranteed transfer program from the local (Northern VA) CC system. They offer a tuition discount to those transfers. http://www.shepherd.edu/nova-transfer-admissions/ http://www.shepherd.edu/nova-transfer-admissions/

brewdad 9y ago
Unfortunately, my state's universities are decidedly mediocre. Both flagships sit outside the top 100 nationally. Bordering states do have strong public universities, so I will have to see if there is any reciprocity. Otherwise, it looks like we'll have to do a lot of close examination of the total financial packages being offered when the time comes. I graduated in the mid-90s with $20k in debt. That wasn't fun but it was manageable. I can't imagine graduating with a mortgage's worth of debt.
- alistairSH 9y ago
  VA also has a private college subsidy (effectively brings most private college tuition down near state-tuition rates). Maybe your state offers something similar? And, check other in-state privates, maybe they offer something like Shepherd U.